22 OCT 2015

1)Taliban – The Frankenstein of Pakistan

Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not the Pakistan army that first introduced the deadly cocktail of religion and terrorism to inflame its neighbourhood. This was done by popularly elected governments. In 1973, PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto asked Babar, then chief of the Peshawar Frontier Corps, to train an Afghan Islamic students’ group to undermine the Daud Khan regime in Kabul. Among those trained by Babar were future mujahideen leaders like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Habibur Rahman, Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Written by a bureaucrat . Read more of the post :-

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/dont-blame-the-isi/

2)Taj Mahal Losing Sheen Because Of Artificial Illumination

According to senior officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), few low-level security lighting posts were installed a few months ago at the 17th century World Heritage Site, with a twin purpose of illuminating the Taj and wooing tourists at night .

However, the direct illumination of the marble monument has brought with it, a big problem – insects. And, these are grass-sapping insects which sit on the floors and walls of the illuminated part and discharge their excreta on the surface, leaving a colored pigment on it, thus spoiling the flawless beauty of the architectural icon.